Life Within Death
by Shugopop
Summary: When Ace dies, he doesn't expect anything out of it. So when he gets a second chance and ends up as the youngest of the three brothers, he doesn't know what to think. The only thing he does know is that there's going to be a reunion of a lifetime.
1. Prolouge

**Disclamer: Only saying this once. Shugopop does not own One Piece or any of the characters, Oda Eiichiro does.**

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Life Within Death –Prolouge

He felt so tired. So tired.

"...I'm sorry...Luffy..."

"Ace! We've gotta hurry and treat your-"

The world was spinning and he felt numb.

"I'm sorry I couldn't let you save me properly! ...Forgive me!"

He heard Luffy call for a doctor vaguely though his pounding ears.

"It's no good! ...I can tell when my own end has come!"

"..No...You promised! You told me didn't you, Ace?! You said you wouldn't die! "

He shut luffy up as he told him he would have never wanted to live if it weren't for him and Sabo. As Ace talked about the past, he gathered all his strength for his last message.

"Old Man!...All you guys!Even though I've been a good for nothing all my life...Even though I carry the blood of a demon within me..."

Ace drew one final breath.

"You guys still loved me...THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

He could feel his tears mixing in with his blood before he fell into darkness.

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**AN: If you see any grammar or spelling mistakes, please notify me. Thank You.**


	2. Chapter 1 - Afterlife?

LWD – Chapter 1 Afterlife?

When Ace awoke, the first thing he saw was the floor. As he peeled his face of the ground, Ace took a look at his surroundings. He was on a bridge, seemingly held up by nothing. It didn't have side barriers to keep people from falling off and on one side the plain bridge, it kept extending endlessly into the surrounding blackness. On the otherside, there was a white gateway with a large amount of light shining through.

'_I guess thats what people mean when they say "I see the light" when their dying...'_

Ace started to rub the back of his neck when his hand hit something and after taking a look, he reliazed it was his hat. Surprised, he looked down to his chest where there was no evidence at all that he'd been pierced through. Ace guessed that when people die they return to the form they were most comfortable with.

He looked up at the gateway and sighed.

'_Well...I guess theres no use in delaying the inevitable. Might was well head on.'_

As Ace got closer he could see a small figure near the Gate sitting along the edge of the bridge. It was a young boy, around the age of ten, sitting there just sorta...watching him. After at least twenty seconds of having the boy stare blankly at Ace walking, he snapped at the boy.

"_What_?!"

The boy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Y-you can _see_ me?"

Ace furrowed his eyebrows and gave the boy a questioning look.

"Of course I can see you, its not like your invisible."

The boy gave Ace an embarassed look.

"Its just that your the first adult to actually see me, ever since I came here."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Uh...that would take a while to explain."

Ace looked at the shining Gate and shrugged.

"Eh. I've got time."

He sat down next to the boy dangling his feet along the edge of the bridge. For one moment Ace looked into the gray abyss down below before facing the boy again. Having a clearer view at his face Ace could see that the boy had a striking resemblance to him, if only a few less freckles and shorter hair.

"So whats your name kid? I'm Ace"

"That's a cool name! My name's Harry. Its kinda dull."

Ace laughed.

"Its better than some of the names I've heard, like Buggy."

"No way! Theres someone named that?! Harry's definitely a better name than that."

"Ok ok, enough joking around. Why don't you tell me your story?"

"So this place is where people go when they die. Adults usually go strait for the Light while kids like me tend to get...lost."

"Wait, what do you mean _lost_?"

"They get sidetracked or they crash into someone that died at the same time and fall off the bridge."

"Then what about you?"

"I was one of the special cases. You see, eventually even the other kids will come back here when the're ready to move on, when they fall off they end up in the living world as ghosts unable to touch anything. Though some kids who are able to touch physical things are different. I've talked to some of the other kids who managed to come back here and they said that those kids are usually in a coma or something in the living world. So if they can find their bodies then they can wake from the coma."

"...And your one of these children? Why don't you go?"

"My parents are already dead. When I got here I managed to see them pass through the Gate. I don't really have anyone other than my family and the're all on the other side. But I didn't want to just waste a chance at life, so I decided to wait here until someone comes along. Then their soul could take my body and I would meet up with my family. You're the only one who stopped since forever."

"You've really thought a lot about this haven't you, Harry? I'm assuming you want me to take this chance?"

"...You look like a guy who has a lot of regrets, Ace."

He chuckled. "Yeah. I guess your right."

Ace stood up and stretched his arms. He put his hands on his hips.

"So! How are we doing this?"

"Eh?! You want to go now?"

"Sure! No time like the present!"

"Uh...I think someone wants to talk to you first though."

"Huh?"

Harry pointed behind Ace and he turned to see someone he really was not expecting.

"Hello, son."

"R-roger?!"

"First time seeing your father and thats the reaction I get? Guahaha!"

"Y-you...you-"

Roger sighed and gave Ace a small smile.

"I know that I've given you a hard life, I've watched it all. You've made good friends, Ace. You have a family, I don't mind you calling that Old Man, Pops. But, I just wanted to aplogize and tell you that even if you hate me, I'm your father...and I love you."

Ace really didn't know what to think. Sure, he had a hard time in his childhood, but he got over that especially when Pops accepted him. He guessed that it was just time to finally resolve the issue.

"...I stopped blaming you a few years ago, it was more habit than anything. I think, I just wanted to be recognized as myself, than Roger's son. There were a lot of bad memories that went with that name. I don't really care as much anymore and... I'd like to get to know you better when I come back."

Roger gave a full blown laugh as he grabbed Ace in for a hug, with Ace awkwardly wrapping his arms around his father back.

"Guahaha! Let's hope thats not true for a long time!"

"Are you guys done being sappy?"

Ace immediately pulled back with a jump.

"Harry! I almost forgot you were here!"

"I don't mind, but didn't you want to go now?"

Ace dusted his shirt off and looked at Harry.

"Right. What do I do?"

"You fall off the bridge."

With that, Harry grabbed onto his arm and fell backwards, dragging Ace with him.

"Wait! Whaaaaaaaaaaaa-!"

As they were falling Harry switched their positions, so Ace was falling below him. The force of their fall was causing their clothes and hair to whip about. Ace's hat somehow managed to stay on thoughout the entire ordeal.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Don't worry! Right now we're headed strait for my body! Your soul might take a while to adjust to it, but you should be fine!"

There was a light that was getting progessively brighter shining behind Ace.

"Hey Ace?!"

"Yeah?!"

"I just wanted to say thank you!"

Harry gave him a large smile before bursting into small particles of light before dissapearing. The world flashed white and once again Ace saw darkness.


	3. Chapter 2 - Waking Up

LWD – Chapter 2 Waking Up

White, blinding white everywhere. Ace pushed himself up to a sitting position with his other hand clutching his head. It took a while for his eyes to adjust. Taking a look around, Ace could clearly see that he was on a cot next to an open window, the wind blowing the pale yellow curtains making them sway. A few medical equipment were scattered around the room, most likely to moniter him, he assumed. The walls were a dull white and in one corner of the room the paint was peeling off.

Ace's arm was shaking, just struggling to hold him steady. His skin was extremely pale, to the point that Ace could see his own veins, and he was dangerously thin. It looked like someone could snap his arm with a mere grasp of his wrist. The hospital machines he'd seen previously were hooked up to him through different tubes and needles.

He shifted over to the edge of the bed and slowly tried to stand up. The door to the room had barely opened when Ace's muscles failed him and he crumpled to the floor.

"Ah! Your not even supposed to be moving! You've just waken up from a long sleep. Now stay here, young man, while I get the doctor."

The nurse lifted him off the floor boards and helped him back into the cot before leaving. All the while, Ace felt disoriented. Everything was so _big_ and tall, even the old nurse felt like a giant to him. With nothing better to do other than wait as she said, he thought about Harry.

_They were falling, sparks of light flying past them as Ace panicked for the first few moments. It seemed almost endless and half of him was expecting to hit the bottom any second, but once he looked into Harry's confident gaze, his doubt disappeared. Ace could hear him calling his name before Harry said his parting words._

"_I just wanted to say Thank You!"_

Ace sincerely hoped that he was able to reunite with his parents. His last words were pretty ironic because it should've been Ace who said 'thank you'. He was the one getting a second chance at life.

'_Come to think of it. Where exactly am I?'_

Ace never asked how Harry died, so he didn't know what to expect from his current situation. Regardless, the first thing he should do is find out where he was in reference to the Grand Line and probably the date while he was at it too. The sounds of waves crashing into the shore reached Ace's ears, causing him to look out the window. He could see a field of grass stretching out a few yards before turning into sand and the smell of salty air comforted him a little. At least he was somewhere near the sea, he assumed the town he was in wasn't very rich judging from state of the room he was presiding in. Ace would have to ask the workers of the hospital for any other information.

Speak of the devil, a doctor and the nurse from earlier came into the room. The doctor gave Ace a friendly smile.

"Ho! You're finally awake! I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but I suggest resting first. We'll talk when your feeling better."

Ace was given a quick check up before the doctor left.

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Over the next week, Ace discovered quite a few things. A merchant ship had found him on a shipwreck not too far from the island. He supposed that was how Harry's parents died. The hospital was originally going to take his body off life support after six months because they couldn't afford to keep using the equipment on him for free, but a generous donor offered to pay his medical bills until he woke up. Ace had resolved to visit the mysterious guy to give him his thanks as soon as he was able to walk.

He saw Luffy pay respects to his grave in the newspaper, after that there wasn't any other news about the Strawhat pirates. There was also an interesting tattoo on Luffy's right shoulder, 3D2Y, with the 3D crossed out. It was most likely something only his crew knew. Without any other information and the current status of Ace's body, it wasn't like he could do anything anyways.

They had truly took him by surprise when they asked for his name. He hadn't even considered at the time that he would need to take on a new identity. For obvious reasons he couldn't give them his real name. A boy that recently woke from a coma claiming to be Portgas D. Ace would go real fine with the authorities. He would end up in a mad house for sure.

With no other option Ace made up a name on the spot, Spade D. Trace, was what he ended up with. The last name was a tribute to his old crew, while his first name was similar enough that it wouldn't cause any problems when people addressed him. Ace figured that eventually he would be able to use his real name when he was strong enough to protect himself. That and it would be a nice insult to the marines.

Before any of that though, he'd need to find Luffy. To make sure he was okay at the very least. The death of his last brother surely affected him in some way. With Luffy on his mind, Ace swore that they would be together again. He sent an apology to Sabo in the afterlife.

'_Sorry Sabo, it'll be a while before we meet. I'm sure you'd want to keep it that way though.'_

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Somewhere on the Grand Line, a certain blond revolutionary sneezed.


End file.
